Red Wings aim to rebound against Blue Jackets

(Sports Network) - It's not that often that the Detroit Red Wings get shut out
in their season opener.

The Red Wings try to shake off a sluggish start on Monday night as they visit
the Columbus Blue Jackets, who themselves are coming off a season-opening
victory.

Detroit visited the reigning Central Division-champion St. Louis Blues on
Saturday and were blanked 6-0, getting outshot 36-14 in the game. That
included a 17-2 disadvantage in the opening frame.

It marked the first time that the Red Wings were shut out in a season opener
since Oct. 11, 1958, a 2-0 loss to the Jacques Plante-led Montreal Canadiens.

"Obviously it was not the start we wanted on the season," said Detroit center
Henrik Zetterberg following his first game as the team's captain. "They were
better than us in every field. It wasn't a good game."

Detroit, which will play its home opener on Tuesday against Dallas, was
without forward Todd Bertuzzi, who is expected to miss extended time after
being diagnosed with mononucleosis.

Hoping to avoid a repeat of last season's 0-7-1 start, the Blue Jackets began
the campaign on Saturday with a 3-2 shootout triumph at Nashville. Nick
Foligno and Artem Anisimov had the regulation goals, while Derick Brassard had
the winner in the deciding frame.

"It's a great feeling to win here," Brassard said. "What a great challenge for
us to come here in the first game with some new faces and already tonight our
new guys made the difference."

After being acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers during the offseason, Sergei
Bobrovsky got the start over Steve Mason and settled down after yielding a
goal just 39 seconds in. He made 32 saves in his Columbus debut and 5-of-6
stops in the shootout.

The Blue Jackets are hoping for an upgrade performance in net after finishing
last in the NHL a season ago with 65 points.

Though the Blue Jackets bested the Red Wings in the final meeting of the
2011-12 season, the Red Wings have won six of nine and 11 of the last 15
encounters.